Tesla launches software update due to risk of hood opening

About 1.8 million vehicles are affected by the issue, which is caused by the software system not recognizing when the hood latch is secured or not, which has led to the hood of the car flipping open during operations.

Tesla has to make software updates to more than 1.8 million cars in the USA due to problems with the bonnet. According to the US regulatory authority NHTSA, the software in the vehicles may not recognise when the hood latch is unlocked. The NHTSA describes the issues as follows: “After a customer action opens the hood, the latch assembly may not detect an open condition and prevent driver notification of the hood open state when the vehicle is placed into drive.” The risk is clear: Should the hood open while the vehicle is being driven, the driver will not be able to see, likely causing major issues in traffic.

Vehicles affected by the issue include Model 3s units of the model year 2021-2024 which were built in China, all model year 2021–2024 Model S vehicles, all model year 2021–2024 Model Xs, and all model year 2020–2024 Model Ys.

The issue first became known in March following complaints about unintended hood opening from Chinese customers. By April, Tesla had identified the problem as deformation of the hood latch switch “which could prevent the customer from being notified about an open hood state.” The ensuing investigation then showed that the issue was present in North America and Europe as well, however it occurred less often than in China, the reasons for which were not determined.

While the issue certainly poses a major risk to drivers, fortunately no cases were found where the issue caused a crash or injury. For this reason, a traditional recall is also not necessary, as the software issue can be addressed via an over-the-air (OTA) update, which Tesla will have to roll out quickly.

nhtsa.gov, arstechnica.com